SUBSCRIPTION BUNDLES

FREE

Real Money

Orbital's Proposed Space Vehicle For NASA's Commercial Crew Development-2 Program Is Depicted In Rendezvous And Berthing Operations With The International Space Station (Photo: Business Wire)

Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE:ORB) today announced that it has
submitted a proposal to the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) in response to the Commercial Crew Development-2
contract...

Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE:ORB) today announced that it has submitted a proposal to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in response to the Commercial Crew Development-2 contract solicitation. The company also provided several top-level details of its proposal for providing safe and affordable transportation services to and from the International Space Station (ISS) and for commercial activities in Earth orbit. Orbital’s concept includes the following details:

Orbital's proposed space vehicle for NASA's Commercial Crew Development-2 program is depicted in rendezvous and berthing operations with the International Space Station (Photo: Business Wire)

A “blended lifting body” vehicle that will launch atop an expendable launch vehicle and return to Earth with a conventional runway landing. This design derives from studies performed by Orbital for NASA under the Orbital Space Plane program between 2000 and 2003.

The vehicle would seat four astronauts, providing a cost-effective solution for NASA’s astronaut transportation needs, as well as enabling future commercial applications.

The proposal baselines using a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, but is flexible enough to accommodate other launch vehicle options.

Orbital also announced that it will lead a team of world-class suppliers that will contribute major elements of the system. Orbital’s major suppliers include:

Thales Alenia Space, which is responsible for the vehicle’s pressurized crew compartment

Northrop Grumman, which is the lead airframe structures designer

Honeywell and Draper Laboratory, which together are responsible for the human-rated avionics

United Launch Alliance, which is responsible for the vehicle’s baseline launch vehicle

“We have submitted to NASA a well-considered commercial solution for astronaut transportation to and from the ISS that is safe, affordable and timely,” said Mr. Frank Culbertson, a former NASA astronaut and Orbital’s Senior Vice President for Human Spaceflight Systems. “Our team is looking forward to sharing our ideas with NASA in greater detail and discussing how they can best be applied to helping the United States continue to access the ISS in the safest and most cost-effective manner possible, as well as supporting commercial ventures that are seeking access to space.”